I am new to this and have no experience programming things. I am also new to Linux. I would like to edit the ruleset for freeciv to change around some of the government options. Would someone be willing to help me out by providing me with a simple and easy to understand description of all that I need to do to create a new form of government?

If you just want to add a new government, I suggest to compare the ruleset "default" with the ruleset "civ2" where a new government, fundamentalism, was added. You will need to check these files:dataciv2governments.rulesetdataciv2effects.ruleset

You will also need an icon for the new government. I used generic icons from default game for my own modified governments, this way they can be compatible with any graphical set. For example: